... The space station Prometheus is studying the planet Solaris. The question is what gift does Solaris represent? What punishment will this Prometheus undergo? And is redemption possible?
Psychiatrist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) receives a visit from The Company. They bring with them a message ... Read review
Solarisis a remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Russian film (often called the "Soviet2001"), ... more
itself an adaptation of the Polish Stanislaw Lem's novel, and is anything but a typical American science fiction film. Psychologist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney, pla...
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Solarisis a remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Russian film (often called the "Soviet2001"), ... more
itself an adaptation of the Polish Stanislaw Lem's novel, and is anything but a typical American science fiction film. Psychologist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney, pla...
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Aboard a lonely space station orbiting a mysterious planet, terrified crew members are ... more
experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including eerie visitors who seem all too human. And when psychologist Chris Kevin arrives to investigate, he confronts a p...
Aboard a lonely space station orbiting the mysterious planet Solaris a terrified crew ... more
encounters a host of strange phenomena including eerie visitors who seem all too human. When psychologist Chris Kelvin (Clooney) arrives to investigate he must con...
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Released in 1972,Solarisis Andrei Tarkovsky's third feature and his most far-reaching ... more
examination of human perceptions and failings. It's often compared to Kubrick's2001, but although both bring a metaphysical dimension to bear on space exploration,Solarishas a claustrophobic intensity which grips the attention over spans of typically Tarkovskian stasis. Donatas Banionis is sympathetic as the cosmonaut sent to investigate disappearances on the space station orbiting the planet Solaris, only to be confronted by his past in the guise of his dead wife, magnetically portrayed by Natalya Bondarchuk. The ending is either a revelation or a conceit, depending on your viewpoint.On the DVD:Solarisreproduces impressively on DVD in widescreen--which is really essential here--and Eduard Artemiev's ambient score comes over with pristine clarity. There are over-dubs in English and French, plus subtitles in 12 languages. An extensive stills gallery, detailed filmographies for cast and crew, and comprehensive biographies of Tarkovsky and author Stanislaw Lem are valuable extras, as are the interviews with Bondarchuk and Tarkovsky's sister and an amusing 1970s promo-film for Banionis. It would have been better had the film been presented complete on one disc, instead of stretched over two. Even so, the overall package does justice to a powerful and disturbing masterpiece. --Richard Whitehouse
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Released in 1972,Solarisis Andrei Tarkovsky's third feature and his most far-reaching ... more
examination of human perceptions and failings. It's often compared to Kubrick's2001, but although both bring a metaphysical dimension to bear on space exploration,Solarishas a claustrophobic intensity which grips the attention over spans of typically Tarkovskian stasis. Donatas Banionis is sympathetic as the cosmonaut sent to investigate disappearances on the space station orbiting the planet Solaris, only to be confronted by his past in the guise of his dead wife, magnetically portrayed by Natalya Bondarchuk. The ending is either a revelation or a conceit, depending on your viewpoint.On the DVD:Solarisreproduces impressively on DVD in widescreen--which is really essential here--and Eduard Artemiev's ambient score comes over with pristine clarity. There are over-dubs in English and French, plus subtitles in 12 languages. An extensive stills gallery, detailed filmographies for cast and crew, and comprehensive biographies of Tarkovsky and author Stanislaw Lem are valuable extras, as are the interviews with Bondarchuk and Tarkovsky's sister and an amusing 1970s promo-film for Banionis. It would have been better had the film been presented complete on one disc, instead of stretched over two. Even so, the overall package does justice to a powerful and disturbing masterpiece. --Richard Whitehouse
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The Solaris mission has established a base on a planet that appears to host some kind of ... more
intelligence but the details are hazy and very secret. After the mysterious demise of one of the three scientists on the base the main character is sent out to replace him. He finds the station run-down and the two remaining scientists cold and secretive. When he also encounters his wife who has been dead for seven years he begins to appreciate the baffling nature of the alien intelligence. Winner of the Grand Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival 1972.
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Solarisis a remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Russian film (often called the "Soviet2001"), ... more
itself an adaptation of the Polish Stanislaw Lem's novel, and is anything but a typical American science fiction film. Psychologist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney, playing it very cool and introverted) is sent to a space station orbiting the perhaps-living planet Solaris to investigate a loss of communication with Earth, and finds only two survivors: a free-associating neurotic (Jeremy Davies) and a control freak (Viola Davis), along with several corpses and evidence of recent violence. Kelvin is shocked to wake up next to his wife Rhea (Natascha McElhone), who committed suicide back on Earth years ago, and treats her like a body-snatched alien, disposing of the creature by jettisoning her into space. But she comes back again, and Kelvin realises she isn't a soulless monster out to get him but a genuinely self-aware construct built from his own memories. Though warned against getting involved, Kelvin tries to maintain a relationship with the non-human woman, hoping to avoid this time the mistakes he made that led to Rhea's death.Steven Soderbergh, the most versatile and unpredictable director in Hollywood, stages a few big space moments, fascinated by the red and stringy ball of Solaris itself, but mostly sticks to interiors that have a Bergman-esque austerity, with Clooney and McElhone inhabiting their own room and going through deep emotional traumas while avoiding actual outbursts. It may be too interior a film for mainstream audiences, though at a clipped hour-and-a-half it isn't as hard going for non-devotees as the three-hour Tarkovsky version, but there is a lot of real meat here none the less. --Kim Newman
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Beautiful, quiet, expects something from you. Disadvantages: Not for those who don't like questions.
...question is what gift does Solaris represent? What punishment will this Prometheus undergo? And is redemption possible?
Psychiatrist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) receives a visit from The Company. They bring with them a message from Gibarian, leader of the crew on board Prometheus, begging Kelvin to come to his aid. Once on board, it is immediately apparent to Kelvin that things are not as they should be. Only two crewmembers remain ... ...A spirit? A ghost? A Solaris creation?
Solaris has a bit of history. Based on a book by Stanislaw Lem and filmed previously by Andrei Tarkovsky thirty years ago, I have read the book but not seen Tarkovsky's offering. All three differ considerably and I think that Soderbergh's interpretation deserves an individual review. And so, I shall forget the book, and the comparisons of the films I have read, and just let you know how I felt ... more
The space station is called Prometheus. Prometheus was the Titan who gave fire to man and in doing so, incurred the wrath of Zeus. His punishment was to spend eternity chained to a rock with ravens sent to eat his liver. Each time, his liver would regenerate, leaving Prometheus to endure the same agony day, after day, after day. However, Prometheus knew that one day Zeus would need him. One day, redemption and forgiveness would be his. He needed only to keep faith. The space station Prometheus is studying the planet Solaris. The question is what gift does Solaris represent? What punishment will this Prometheus undergo? And is redemption possible?
Psychiatrist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) receives a visit from The Company. They bring with them a message from Gibarian, leader of the crew on board Prometheus, begging Kelvin to come to his aid. Once on board, it is immediately apparent to Kelvin that things are not as they should be. Only two crewmembers remain alive: Snow (Jeremy Davies) and Dr Gordon (Viola Davis). Gibarian has committed suicide. Snow is lost in a manic world of his own and Gordon has locked herself in her room. Blood spatters the corridors of Prometheus. Then, Rheya (Natascha McElhone) appears. Rheya is Kelvin's wife. However, Rheya committed suicide three years ago.
"I don't remember anything. I only remember you."
Who is Rheya? Herself? A spirit? A ghost? A Solaris creation?
Solaris has a bit of history. Based on a book by Stanislaw Lem and filmed previously by Andrei Tarkovsky thirty years ago, I have read the book but not seen Tarkovsky's offering. All three differ considerably and I think that Soderbergh's interpretation deserves an individual review. And so, I shall forget the book, and the comparisons of the films I have read, and just let you know how I felt when I watched this latest version.
There is little new, or groundbreaking here. That is not the point. We have seen monsters conjured from the darker recesses of our minds in much that science fiction has to offer. We have seen and read about angels. We know that we are an imperfect race and we have speculated often that the true power in the universe is an impassive force, uninterested in our hubris, but merely there. Solaris simply takes these various existential musings and offers them up to us for our consideration. It asks us not to look out, but to look in. It does not answer our questions, but rather directs us to the only answers of any use: our own. This is not a plot-linear film. The action sits in the background, behind the impressions. Solaris is beautiful: a pink and mauve electric storm. Yet it is also solemn, magisterial and impassive. Under its aegis, characters move around in a kind of dreamscape: puzzled; afraid; self-aware. Chris Kelvin is being asked to answer his own questions, just as Dr Gordon is being asked and just as you are being asked. Your own answer is the only thing that really matters.
In a dream-piece such as this, I am not sure what there is to say about the actors' performances. Clooney walks around a bit, McElhone looks enigmatic, Davies twitches and stutters, Davis shuts her mind to possibilities and admits only fear and loathing. It's all internalised. The film flits back and forth between earth and Prometheus, between dream-states and true consciousness, between the past and the present. Everything is on hold. Scripts and visuals and score blend together, leaving you with a series of impressions, rather than a sense of plot or of resolution. The score seems deeply appropriate – a percussive, floating, ambient sound of the type I don't generally like. However, it fits the moodiness of the piece perfectly. There are lots of pauses, quite a few words, a deal of soul-searching, and, significantly most of what action there is turns out to be pointless. Solaris is not about deeds; it is about thought. Eventually, Kelvin must make his choice, though, and this choice will be the one action in the film that has any real meaning. Will he choose faith, or reason?
And there, with faith, we have it. For me, Solaris is a film about faith. Not any kind of denominational faith, although its musings on redemption owe a great deal to Christianity, obviously, but the faith in the heart of any human being. As the closing credits rolled, I felt uplifted, yet wistful. I may not believe in a god, but there is plenty in which I do believe. I believe in truth and justice. I believe in forgiveness and redemption and above all, I believe there is a moral purpose to life. And I think, in the end, Solaris celebrated that faith I feel inside. It gave me confidence to trust in my own answers. I cannot say what it would mean to you, for I think it is a piece of work that will mean something different to each person watching. That is its quiet truth. Solaris isn't for the fainthearted, because it is an exploration of your faith, and whether or not you have the courage to trust in it. Not all questions can be answered by the physical. It is not a film for those who like only to spectate. It is for those who wish to take part.
And it really is quite beautiful. I am sure that Prometheus would have liked it.
Advantages: A beautiful materpiece, haunting, thoughtful and pensive Disadvantages: -
...difficult opinion to write, and Solaris is a difficult film to watch. Difficult to write, because the film is very close to my heart, and what truly makes it was it is, is almost impossible to describe. Difficult to watch – well, let me qualify that. What I mean is that this film isn’t entertainment, and it isn’t intended for people who need to leave their brains behind when going to the cinema. The vast majority of people won’t like it, they’ll ... ...moving. Alive. The shots of Solaris itself are the most beautiful space and CG scenes I’ve ever seen. Kris’ shuttle slowly drifting towards the station is haunting and majestic. Through Kris’ dreams, we see his life with, and the eventual death of, his wife, Rheya (Natascha McElhone, THE TRUMAN SHOW). Once on board, he tries to understand what’s happening to what remains of the crew - eccentric technician Snow (Jeremy Davies, RAVENOUS), and highly-strung ...
digitalburn 28.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Solaris (DVD)
Advantages: A break from the norm Disadvantages: Some people would prefer the norm
...in the original film that Solaris the planet might be God.
~ * ~ Safe now. ~ * ~ On the whole this is a talkative film, even though the actual word-count must be well down on the modern-day average, and one with rather more than the average amount of philosophising. George Clooney gets to walk around slowly, and talk slowly, and stare moodily (and slowly), and does them all really quite well. His certainly is the best character, as his is by far ... ...There is contrast between them all, however, with Gordon's gung-ho scientific plan to stop the visitations, for example.
The script and direction are both done very well, if you can bear the continuous merging of past event and internal thought. It all looks very nice, although the wide screen could have been better used, and all Earth shots are internal or close-up ones with blurred backgrounds to avoid having to make it look futuristic. But is ...
theediscerning 07.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Solaris (DVD)
Advantages: Suspense, good storyline, engaging characterisation Disadvantages: Not very visually inspiring
...ball of energy that is Solaris is a bit naff) and the techie scenes are not overly important, but what there is is done very well and does not detract from the story. The space station and vehicles are very 2010, for instance.
Soderbergh is a director that likes to fool about with the viewer. Scenes or 'reality' are interrupted constantly with daydreams and memories. Spotting them becomes easier and the storyline wends its way. Distilling the true ... ...the film entralling. It is as if Soderbergh gives the ingredients of the finished story to the audience and leaves the making of the whole experience open to various interpretations. I personally liked this a lot. I did not leave the film feeling patronised, nor did I feel that it was merely a rollercoaster ride with little expected of me in the making of the experience.
THE CHARACTERS
Clooney plays a shrink, Chris Kelvin, in the American sense ...
wreckferret 08.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Solaris (DVD)
Advantages: a challenging, well executed movie Disadvantages: fairly slow, confusing
For George Clooney fans, this movie is a real treat as it shows a whole new side to his abilities as an actor.
For Sci Fi fans expecting a wild ride with aliens, space-ships and explosions... this isn't really what you're looking for (but hey, give it a try anyway)
This movie is not simply a remake of the 1974 adaptation of Stanislaw Lems book, but more of a re-interpretation, with some minor changes to story-line (and the gender of one character). ... ...a more provocative discussion on love and boundries - personal, ethical, moral.
The movie interprets the feel of the book, and presents it as an approachable, if in some places slow, movie that leaves you with more questions than it answers, but not feeling unsatified.
Given the cast and crew and their track records it's quite a brave departure on all counts, so don't see it expecting a re-hash of something one of the names has done before.
The ...
zzarg 12.09.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Solaris (DVD)
Advantages: A great story, good actors, beautiful pictures, fasctinating philosophiocal questions Disadvantages: I heard someone yawn in the cinema
I just need my good portion of cinema and sundays are more or less perfect for that. Because my magazine was wrong that day and there was no "Catch me if you can" on I went for "Solaris" which I had wanted to watch anyway. Psychatrist Chris Kelvin doesn't mind at all that he's called to spacestation in the near of the planet "Solaris". Somehow everything is a bit messed up there and he's the only one who can help now (why him is not explained). He's ... ...soon as he's up in space he's told that two of the astronauts have committed suicide. Snow and Dr. Helen Gordon are totally confused as well. To his question what was going on Snow answered "I could tell you but it wouldn't tell you anything." But soon enough Chris knows what's going on. As he awakes the next morning his (actually dead) wife Rheya lies next to him. He can't handle this (which is very understandable, if you ask me) und "throws" her ...
Ihatemusic 07.09.2005
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This is often described as Russia's answer to 2001, but it doesn't share (or could afford to share) that movie's ambition or scope. However, the reason why the two are linked is because both are intellectual works that make Star Wars and Star Trek look like pantomimes in comparison. However, it must be emphasised that Solaris probably isn't everyone's cup of tea and if you were born after 1980 you may think this is the slowest film ever made. Yet have patience and you will be rewarded with one of the most enigmatic endings in cinema history. Remade in 2002 as a vanity project for George Clooney, which shows great taste on his part but lacks the haunting quality of the original. ...
Psychologist, Chris Kelvin, mourning the loss of his beloved wife, is instructed to travel to a distant space station in order to treat a group of traumatised astronauts...
Remake Of
Solaris ( 1972 Russia )
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
Audio Commentary - 1. Steven Soderbergh - Director, Behind the Scenes Footage, Script
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Professional reviews
Review
"...A uniquely dazzling display of its maker's cinematic virtuosity..." (Box Office, p.57, 01/01/2003)
"...Sleekly austere....McElhone is certainly someone to pine for -- there are depths to her apple-cheeked sculptural beauty..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.69, 06/12/2002)
"...What it does most of all is reinforce Steven Soderbergh's position as Hollywood's most gifted chameleon, a filmmaker able to operate with elan in all manner of genres..." (Los Angeles Times, p.C1, 27/11/2002)
"...Visually handsome in an austere way..." (New York Times, p.E1, 27/11/2002)
"...SOLARIS is a mind-bender in the best sense of the word: The spell it casts follows you all the way home..." (Rolling Stone, p.106, 12/12/2002)
"...Clooney does a convincing job....Davies is also strong....Soderbergh does a fine job of creating a moody atmosphere of pervasive anxiety..." (USA Today, p.3D, 27/11/2002)
"...Technically superb and features a strong serious performance by George Clooney..." (Variety, p.22-7, 25/11/2002)
DVD Description
Steven Soderbergh (OCEAN'S ELEVEN, TRAFFIC) delivers yet another inspired remake with this pensive sci-fi drama based on the book by Stanislaw Lem. Taking his cue from Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 epic of the same name, Soderbergh boldly chooses atmosphere over action, crafting a profoundly meditative work that will challenge audiences for many years to come. George Clooney plays Chris Kelvin, a therapist who is sent to a space station near the planet of Solaris in order to investigate a series of mysterious happenings. When he arrives, he finds only two surviving crew members, the hyper-strange Snow (Jeremy Davies) and ultra-paranoid Gordon (Viola Davis). Unable to make sense of their fear and confusion, Chris soon discovers the reason for their anxiety. In a seemingly implausible turn of events caused by Solaris's bizarre energy levels, Chris's deceased wife Rhea (Natascha McElhone) reappears. Fully aware that Rhea is only a figment of his memory, Chris is nonetheless unable to dismiss her due to the tragic events surrounding her death. He must somehow find a way to bid farewell to Rhea once and for all without collapsing under the weight of his own guilty conscience. Soderbergh's dream of a motion picture successfully balances philosophy with romance, telling a familiar tale of love and loss in a strikingly original way.
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